San Jose Earthquakes manage 1-1 tie with Seattle Sounders

SEATTLE -- Coming off a loss that Chris Wondolowski deemed "embarrassing," the Earthquakes stepped on the CenturyLink Field pitch Wednesday night with something to prove.

Trailing by a goal in the second half, it was the Quakes forward who helped his team atone for last week's loss to FC Dallas -- the most lopsided MLS defeat in club history.

Wondolowski tapped in a goal in the 65th minute as San Jose (6-9-7) preserved a 1-1 tie against Seattle (13-7-3) in front of an announced crowd of 38,909.

"Any time you lose at home like that (5-0 to FC Dallas on Saturday) you have a bit of a chip on your shoulder," Wondolowski said. "I'm grateful we didn't have all week to dwell on it. We had a game to try and right the ship. This is a tough place to play and, to get a point, we'll take it."

It's been a struggle for the Quakes on the road this season, but they were able to create some early offensive chances in the first stop of a two-match road swing.

"I thought it was a good performance," San Jose coach Mark Watson said. "We knew it was a tough place to play. Seattle is a good team with a lot of quality players, and I thought we played well."

The Quakes learned earlier Wednesday that Matias Perez Garcia will miss four to six weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a knee injury that he sustained against FC Dallas.

Tommy Thompson replaced Garcia in the lineup and got his foot on the ball in front of the net in the 30th minute, forcing Sounders FC goalkeeper Stefan Frei to make a sliding save.

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"Tommy did well tonight," Watson said. "It's clear to see he's a real quality player. Overall, I thought it was a great performance. He just turned 19, so he's a young kid. It's his first MLS start. He didn't seem overawed by the occasion."

Sounders FC outshot the Quakes 24-10, but keeper Jon Busch helped keep San Jose in the game. He finished with six saves, including a diving, one-handed stop on a shot from Obafemi Martins in the 43rd minute.

Sounders FC broke the scoreless tie less than a minute into the second half when Martins tapped the ball to Chad Barrett, who was able to slip the ball past Busch and into the far corner of the goal.

Wondolowski tied it, using his knee to redirect a low cross from Cordell Cato that slipped just inside the far post.

"Cordell did a great job," Wondolowski said. "He sent it across the goal mouth and I was able to tap it in."